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from the its-quiet-awl-write-two-laugh-hat-you're-miss-steaks dept.
I was recently introduced to Professor Paul Brians' web site at Washington State University (WSU). I know I've made many mistakes like these over the years, and would like to think that I have learned from those mistakes. Would that I could have learned them, then, without having to go through those experiences.
So, with a sense of gratitude for what I've been taught and learned so far, and in hopes that it might afford a Soylentil a chance to avoid a red-face-inducing faux pas, I offer you examples of some Common Errors in English Usage:
People send me quite a few word confusions which don't seem worth writing up but which are nevertheless entertaining or interesting. I simply list a number of these below for your amusement. Many of them are discussed on the Eggcorn Database site.
Note: if you don't find what you're looking for below, please be aware that this is only a supplementary page to a much more extensive site that begins here.
NOTE: This is a greatly thinned list of examples from the linked page and has been reformatted for use here. Ellipses ([...]) between entries are implied.
| What was said | What was meant |
|---|---|
| ad homonym | ad hominem |
| aerobic numbers | Arabic numbers |
| ashfault | asphalt |
| Cadillac converter | catalytic converter |
| circus sized | circumcised |
| deformation of character | defamation of character |
| flamingo dancer | flamenco dancer |
| four-stair heating | forced-air heating |
| gentile manners | genteel manners |
| glaucomole | glaucoma |
| gorilla warfare | guerilla warfare |
| Heineken remover | Heimlich maneuver |
| immaculate degeneration | macular degeneration |
| in sink | in synch |
| ivy tower | ivory tower |
| misconscrew | misconstrue |
| muncho man | macho man |
| parody of virtue | paragon of virtue |
| piece of mind | peace of mind |
| pot-bellied politics | pork-barrel politics |
| shock ways | shockwaves |
| techknowledgy | technology |
| two sense worth | two cents' worth |
| tyrannical yolk | tyrannical yoke |
| very close veins | varicose veins |
| windshield factor | wind chill factor |
What are your favorites — either from this list — or from elsewhere?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 11 2019, @02:52PM (1 child)
That list is demonstrative of an infantile illiteracy, that is having heard phrases by ear and trying to produce them in writing, without the conscience urging a quick check in the dictionary. Such mistakes should only be made by children, and schooling should have built up someone's vocabulary to the point where there is enough of a trustable dictionary in the head to avoid most such errors.
"Techknowledgy" - I can understand that from a 6 year old. If you do that when you are 12, you are an idiot.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 11 2019, @04:34PM
I agree, somewhat. If people make the same mistakes, always and forever, then yes. But, even more educated people make an occasional stupid mistake.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.